REMORA · REMORA - Small fishes in a big pond

The growing innovation divide across the European Union appears particularly detrimental to small and emerging regional research and innovation systems like the Outermost Regions. With limited resources, these regions struggle to reach the critical mass needed to build comparative advantages and become knowledge societies. Though the European Research Area and the Framework programmes could compensate this marginalization through greater knowledge circulation, resources sharing and talents mobilities, the Outermost Regions present a limited participation in FP7 and Horizon 2020. This underutilization notably stems from the competing relations between structural funds (ESIF) and the framework programs or “substitution effect”: many organizations and individuals prioritize easily accessible ESIF, decide not to apply to the FP and end up in “substitution trap” which isolates them from promising collaborations. To move Outermost Regions’ R&I organizations and systems from substitution to synergies, REMORA ambitions to transform 3 Ocean and Marine ESIF-funded institutions in La Réunion, Madeira and the Azores into Horizon Europe champions : CITEB, OKEANOS and OOM. To that end, REMORA will enhance their competitiveness (notably human resources, knowledge transfer and innovation capacities), strategic positioning and connections with major EU networks through a joint internationalization strategy. REMORA will then use the successful transformation of these 3 role models to lead other ESIF-oriented R&I organizations and policy-makers in Outermost and Widening Regions on the path to synergies.